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Taking Heed against Unbelief
Message Given June 1, 2008 - audio
version
- Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth
so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that
is set before us,
- 2 Looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- 4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
- 5 And Moses verily
was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after;
- 6 But Christ as a
son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
- 7 Wherefore (as the
Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice,
- 8 Harden not your
hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the
wilderness:
- 9 When your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
- 10 Wherefore I was
grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in
their heart; and they have not known my ways.
- 11 So I swore in my
wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
- 12 Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God.
- 13 But exhort one
another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
- 14 For we are made
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast unto the end;
In the Old Testament stories of Israel
and how God dealt with Israel we see can learn from the experiences
they went through. Through Israel we can learn what pleases God and
what displeases God. The land of Israel was promised to Abraham
years before he had any offspring to inherit what God promised him.
God later reminded Isaac and Jacob who later became
Israel of that same promise.
After years of bondage in Egypt God
sent Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt and bring them
into the land of promise. Egypt symbolizes the world or our bondage
to sin. The promise land is symbolic of our inheritance of salvation
through faith in Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life.
The mistakes and short comings of
Israel are similar to the mistakes and shortcomings of the church
and of us as individuals. Although God makes many promises to the
nation of Israel and those promises are still in effect, salvation
through Jesus Christ is an individual thing. In order to inherit
eternal life, each and every individual whether Jew or Gentile has
to come to Christ on their own. There is not group salvation. It is
a decision all of us have to make on our own.
I wish the doctrine of eternal security
of the believer was true. That is once we are born again by the
spirit and have had our sins forgiven and cleansed by the blood of
Jesus, we can never be lost. There are so many scriptures in both
the Old and New Testaments however, that warn of backsliding and
sin.
Salvation is promised to those that
believe to the point of turning from sin and turning to Christ but
along with that salvation is many take heeds, if's, and warnings
from Jesus Himself to repent and do the first works if one has
fallen away from their first love.
Because of unbelief, the first
generation of the children of Israel that came out of the land of
Egypt with Moses, were forbidden to enter the Promised Land.
Unbelief led to murmuring and complaining, fear and rebellion that
followed and caused them to lose out on the promise. That can happen
to us as believers today.
Remember the verses I read previously:
- Hebrews 3:12 Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God.
- 13 But exhort
one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
- 14 For we are
made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end;
In Hebrews chapter 4:
- Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore
fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest,
any of you should seem to come short of it.
- 2 For unto us was
the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached
did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that
heard it.
It is possible to start out great but
allow unbelief to enter into us and that will be the first step back
into sin and into the life we lived before we came to Christ. This
is why we gather together to hear the word and worship. It
strengthens our faith and helps guard against unbelief. Without
faith it’s impossible to please God.
Unbelief is the opposite of faith. When
we forget that Christ has cleansed us from sin, that is the first
step to returning to the sin we are cleansed from. Just as Israel
was promised a land flowing with milk and honey if they would obey
God, salvation is given to those that obey Jesus Christ.
1. We hold fast our confidence and hope
in Christ
2. We obey His words.
Hebrews 5: 7-9 speaking of Jesus
Christ:
- Hebrews 5:7 Who in the
days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and
supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was
able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
- 8 Though he were
a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he
suffered;
- 9 And being made
perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them
that obey him;
There is ifs, and many take heeds all
through the scriptures. Not only by the apostles but by our Lord
Jesus Himself.
We must press forward and not look
back. We must continue in the doctrine that was once delivered to
the saints. Do not take the word of any television preacher, the
pastor or myself. Be as the Bereans and check out all we say by the
written word.
We do not have time to stand and read
the whole bible and can sometimes only quote a few verses to prove
the points we try to make. It is a great idea to write down the
verses and later look them up but study the chapters before and
after the verses I give or anyone else gives. Even if I make a
mistake and get it wrong you will be blessed and strengthened by the
study alone.
- Hebrews 10:12 But this man,
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on
the right hand of God;
- 13 From henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
- 14 For by one
offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.
- 15 Whereof the Holy
Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said
before,
- 16 This is the
covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the
Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds
will I write them;
- 17 And their sins
and iniquities will I remember no more.
- 18 Now where
remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
- 19 Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the
blood of Jesus,
- 20 By a new and
living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is to say, his flesh;
- 21 And having a
high priest over the house of God;
- 22 Let us draw near
with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with
pure water.
- 23 Let us hold fast
the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is
faithful that promised;)
- 24 And let us
consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
- 25 Not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the
day approaching.
We see from these scriptures that
salvation is supposed to be eternal. We are to draw near to God with
assurance after having been cleansed from sin. If I quoted only
verses 16 and 17 and didn’t read further, we could get an eternal
security message but as we read further, we see warnings to hold
fast our profession of faith without wavering and provoke unto love
and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.
- Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin
willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
- 27 But a certain
fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which
shall devour the adversaries.
- 28 He that despised
Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
- 29 Of how much
sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who
hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
- 30 For we know him
that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense,
saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
- 31 It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Strive not to fall back into unbelief. When
times are good and when times are bad, press on believing God will
never forsake us.
- Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away
therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of
reward.
36 For ye have
need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye
might receive the promise.
37 For yet, a
little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not
tarry.
38 Now the
just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in him.
39 But we are
not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that
believe to the saving of the soul.
We must continue forward and not look
back to Egypt like the early Israelites did. They began to lust
after the food and the things they had in Egypt forgetting that they
were in bondage.
If we look back into our past and
desire the things Jesus saved us from, we too could forget how deep
in bondage we were in and how Jesus paid a great price to free us
from that bondage. The flesh desires to return to those old ways and
still think eternal life is there for the taking just because we
made a one time decision to accept Jesus Christ. Yet we know that it
is not what happened years ago that matters it is what we are
today.
- Hebrews 12:13 And make
straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned
out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
- 14 Follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the
Lord:
Remember the example of Esau. Esau was
the firstborn that tradition at that time ordained the firstborn to inherit the blessing handed down from his
father. Esau was so hungry one time that he sold that
birthright to Jacob just to satisfy his natural hunger for food. He
cared more for the temporary things than for his inheritance. He
lost the blessing. This is one reason that fasting helps us
overcome the flesh and walk in the spirit. Sometimes instead of
eating to live, we live to eat.
The message of salvation is easy to
understand but we must continue in the word and abide in Christ. How
would a marriage work if we had a beautiful wedding with all the
trimmings but after we were married we spent very little time with
our spouse and went our own way and did our own thing? Sooner or
later any couple would drift apart and they would have no marriage.
If we come to Christ, we then begin to
walk with Christ, abide in Christ and obey His teachings. We begin
to walk in the spirit and by doing that we overcome the desires of
the flesh that are defeating us.
In James 1:27
The world and God do not mix. The Holy
Spirit dwells in a vessel that God has cleansed.
-
1Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I
beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts, which war against the soul;
Lusts of the flesh, the pride of life
and lust of the eye wars against the things of the spirit.
- 2Peter 1:10 Wherefore
the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and
election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
- 11 For so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Again and again we see looking back and
unbelief is caused by neglect and not staying in fellowship with the
Lord.
- 2Peter 2:20 For if
after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the
knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with
them than the beginning.
21 For
it had been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the
holy commandment delivered unto them.
11
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what
manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness,
12
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens
and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be
diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and
blameless.
Remain steadfast, unmovable, not up one day
and down the next.
-
2Peter 3:17 Ye therefore,
beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye
also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from
your own steadfastness.
The same bible that tells of the new
birth, the living water and salvation by grace also warns us against
losing that which we have by neglect and unbelief.
-
1John 1:7 But if we walk in
the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from
all sin.
We are cleansed from sin as we continue
to walk in the light.
- Jude 1:4 For there are
certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained
to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God
into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord
Jesus Christ.
- 5 I will
therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how
that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed them that believed not.
- 6 And the angels
which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Unbelievers in the wilderness didn't make it
to the promised land.
- Revelation 3:15 I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert
cold or hot.
- 16 So then because
thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee
out of my mouth.
Remember Christ’s warning the church in
Revelation that had gotten lukewarm. Unbelief also leads to apathy
and lukewarm faith.
-
Romans 6:22 But now being
made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your
fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Once we've been made free from sin, we are to
abide in Christ and bring forth the fruits of holiness.
- Ephesians 5:1 Be ye
therefore followers of God as dear children:
- 2 And walk in love,
as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor.
- 3 But fornication,
and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named
among you, as becometh saints;
- 4 Neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not
convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
- 5 For this ye know,
that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who
is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
and of God.
- 6 Let no man deceive
you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
- 7 Be not ye
therefore partakers with them.
We have been given a new and better way
to live. We can overcome the flesh and walk in the spirit but it
takes determination to hold out and not look back. Remember Lot’s
wife.
There was a lady named Emma I use to know that sometimes
sang a song called, “I am determined to hold out til the end.” That
is what we need to do.
- John 15:1 I am the
true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
- 2 Every branch
in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more
fruit.
- 3 Now ye are
clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
- 4 Abide in me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except
it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
- 5 I am the
vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing.
- 6 If a man
abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are
burned.
God never left us without a way out. He
sent Jesus as a way out of sin, He sent the Holy Spirit to sanctify
us by the word and by the spirit. In other words we continue on with
Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to take away the old desires and
give us new desires in its place.
God provided the written word so that
we could know how to receive all these promises and then on top of
all that He endues us with power by that which we call the baptism
with the Holy Spirit which is promised to all that believe.
All these things is ours but like the
seed that fell on both good and bad ground some of us just go so far
and get our sins forgiven and get just enough to last from one
meeting to the next and do not seek God for a deeper walk and
overcoming power that will allow us to walk in the spirit.
When we follow God afar off, we are
weak and will not be victorious. We do not have to follow Him afar
off; we can have the living water flowing in and out bubbling over
onto others. It is ours for the asking.
Dorna J Chambers
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